Amy and Danielle: Mom Ink

Jul
31
2012

On Letting Go

There is a striking similarity between growing kids and growing a business.

by: Amy and Danielle

A facebook friend recently posted a photo that took my breath away. It was a photo of her saying goodbye to her daughter as she went off to overnight camp. The woman is laughing and crying at the same time, while her daughter is smiling and comforting her. Despite the fact that I’ve never met this woman IRL (hope to soon) the photo brought tears to my eyes. I was struck by how bittersweet it is to let go of our kids. We bring them into this world and pretty much start preparing them to leave us. With each skill and each word we teach them we are in effect, preparing them to live without us. What could be harder to get our heads around?

Sometimes I’m struck by how hard it is to let go of our businesses too. We’ve been working with a great woman who is bringing an amazing product line to market. As we’ve been encouraging her to grow in not just her manufacturing and marketing, but also her plans for the company. And we’ve been watching her struggle with letting her idea go out on it’s own into the world—where it might be copied, changed or challenged. But the business needs to fly, just like the kids do. The parallels are striking.
 
Growing pains aren’t just for kids. We all experience them as our babies and our businesses grow. How can we deal with the struggle of letting go? Beats the heck out me—I’m fully prepared for my own laughing/bawling photo as I send my kids off to camp for the first time this summer!  
Category: 
Life - Work
Tags: 
letting go; summer camp; business; growing pains; mom inc.
Amy and Danielle